Here are a few more preening photos to go along with my last For the Birds column post. Click here in case you missed it.
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Photo by Chris Bosak
A yellow-crowned night heron preens in Norwalk, Conn., summer 2017.
Photo by Chris Bosak
A Piping Plover preens at Milford Point in spring of 2014.
Here is the latest For the Birds column, which runs in several New England newspapers.
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Photo by Chris Bosak
A Red-tailed hawk preens at Weed Beach in Darien, Conn., January 2015.
I thought my cat was bad. The incessant licking to keep himself clean. He’s got to be the cleanest cat ever.
Then I watched a northern mockingbird preening itself. It went on for as long as I could watch and who knows how much longer after I walked away.
Feather maintenance is an important part of life for birds and it takes up a great amount of their time. Feathers play a role in a bird’s ability to fly, attract a mate, hide from predators and protect itself from the weather. Birds are the only living creatures with Continue reading
Here is the latest For the Birds column, which runs in several New England newspapers.
Photo by Chris Bosak
Snow Bunting at Norwalk’s Calf Pasture Beach, March 26, 2013.
I had two very different birdwatching experiences on consecutive days recently. Both of them were great, of course, but very, very different.
Let’s start with a Wednesday outing. I had some rare time to myself, so I was going somewhere. I didn’t care how cold it was outside, I was getting out of the house.
I had read the previous day on the Connecticut Rare Bird Alert Web site that short-eared owls were being seen at Silver Sands State Park in Milford. I’ve never had much luck finding owls, but figured I’d give it a shot. Maybe this was the day my luck would change. Snowy owls are being seen in larger-than-normal numbers this year, too, so my chances were doubled.
Armed with a heavy winter coat, hat and oversized dorky mittens, Continue reading
Story in Special Places, the magazine of The Trustees
Kudos to the layout team at Special Places, the magazine of the The Trustees of Reservations, a Massachusetts conservation organization with many terrific lands under its care. I was asked to write a story on winter birdwatching, which of course I accepted. The editorial and layout team did a great job of packaging the story and making the story look great. (All of the photos are mine, too, except for the nice shot of the snowy owl, which was taken by Ryan Pennesi.)
I know this photo of the layout makes the story close to impossible to read (if not impossible). The text will be available soon at the website of The Trustees. Check out what this great organization has been up to at www.thetrustees.org.
Photo by Chris Bosak
A red-shouldered hawk perches on a wire in Brookfield, Connecticut, Jan. 2018.
Sorry for the delay on this post … I ended the last post with this:
“I have a feeling this bird is digesting a recently eaten meal. Anybody know what makes me think that?”
Take a look at the bill and talons of the bird. Some small bird or animal found out why hawks are “birds of prey.”
Photo by Chris Bosak
A red-shouldered hawk perches on a wire in Brookfield, Connecticut, Jan. 2018.
Photo by Chris Bosak
A red-shouldered hawk perches on a wire in Brookfield, Connecticut, Jan. 2018.
Photo by Chris Bosak
A red-shouldered hawk perches on a wire in Brookfield, Connecticut, Jan. 2018.
Here are a few more photos of the red-shouldered hawk I spotted the other day in Brookfield, Conn.
Notice how far the head can turn around. Quite an impressive and useful adaptation for birds.
I have a feeling this bird is digesting a recently eaten meal. Anybody know what makes me think that?
Photo by Chris Bosak
A red-shouldered hawk perches on a wire in Brookfield, Connecticut, Jan. 2018.
Photo by Chris Bosak
A red-shouldered hawk perches on a wire in Brookfield, Connecticut, Jan. 2018.
As I do every year, I wrote my Top 10 Birding Highlights of the Year column a few weeks ago for the New England newspapers that run For the Birds. Thing is, I forgot to post it here. So, without further delay (I think three weeks is enough delay), here it is …
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Photo by Chris Bosak
A Great Gray Owl perches in a tree overlooking a field in Newport, N.H., in March 2017.
I almost forgot to write my favorite column of the year: A look back at my year’s top birding highlights.
With Christmas and New Year’s falling on Mondays, I got a brief reprieve from my column, and last week I was eager to share the results of the local Christmas Bird Counts.
What should I write about for my next column, I thought one day last week? Oh yeah, I never did get to my 2017 top 10 birding moments, did I? Thankfully, I remembered just in time.
10. Camping with my son and his friend. Between coaching baseball and other excuses, it had been a few years since I had taken my boys camping. This past summer, my older son, Andrew, got done with school a week before my younger son, Will, so I took the opportunity to visit my favorite spot in Pittsburg. Andrew brought a friend with him. and we swam, hiked, canoed and talked by the fire. They are also old enough now that I was able to leave them alone for a few hours while I went looking for birds.
9. The spring got off to a good start as a good number of eastern towhees showed up before the warbler rush. This April, as I eagerly awaited the return of the warblers, tanagers and buntings, a good number of towhees were reliable sightings Continue reading
Photo by Chris Bosak
A red-shouldered hawk perches on a wire in Brookfield, Connecticut, Jan. 2018.
When I drove past this red-shouldered hawk near Brookfield (Conn.) High School, I doubted I would be able to find a place to safely pull off the road and snap a few photos. I had to try, however, so I pulled into parking lot a few dozen yards down the road and started to turn around. I noticed, however, that the parking lot afforded an even better view of the bird and just as close. I’ll take that luck any day. Notice the reddish chest and belly barring, as opposed to the more brownish markings of a broad-winged or red-tailed hawk.
Photo by Chris Bosak
A Cooper’s hawk looks up after landing on a snowy branch during a moderate snowfall in Jan. 2018.
Watching birds at my feeders during a snowfall is one of my favorite things to do. This year I’m getting nothing out of the ordinary. Not that I’m complaining because I love seeing the titmice, nuthatches, chickadees, woodpeckers (downy, hairy and red-bellied), blue jays and juncos, but I haven’t seen a single siskin, redpoll, Carolina wren or even goldfinch or white-throated sparrow. A male cardinal makes a very rare appearance.
During a recent snowfall I saw nothing for a long stretch. I had been seeing lots of birds earlier in the day and suddenly, nothing. I looked behind the feeding station and noticed why. You guessed it, Cooper’s hawk. Along with sharp-shinned hawks, Copper’s hawks like to check out feeding stations periodically for an easy meal. And why not. The “feeder birds” are there for an easy meal; why begrudge birds of prey one?
Norman Spicher of New Hampshire got this photo of a snowy own in the Keene, N.H., in January 2018.
It looks like another good year to see snowy owls throughout New England.
The white, powerful Arctic visitors may not be as prolific as they were four winters ago, but it is another exceptionally strong year for sure.
A glimpse at Rare Bird Alerts throughout the region show they are being seen at both coastal and inland areas. They are more likely to be seen along the coast, but not exclusively. Keep your eyes open and you just may spot one of these magnificent creatures.
I have not spotted one this year yet. To be fair, I haven’t made much of an effort as work and family duties have kept me from visiting areas where they have been seen. Luckily, I heard from a reader of my bird column in New Hampshire who sent me a photo of a snowy owl that has been seen in the southwestern corner of that state.
That photo is above and also on the “reader submitted photos” page on this site.
It’s funny, that page also includes a photo of a snowy owl taken in southwestern New Hampshire a few years ago. As I said, snowy owls are most likely to be seen along the coast, but not always.
Good luck in your search. Let me know how you do.
Below are a few photos I took during the historic irruption of 2013, but first here are some links to interesting stories about these northern birds of prey.
From Audubon:
http://www.audubon.org/news/hold-your-bins-another-blizzard-snowy-owls-could-be-coming
How are the owls doing overall?
Well-done blog with maps:
https://bryanpfeiffer.com/snowy-owl-scoop/
Here’s where they are being seen:
http://ebird.org/ebird/alert/summary?sid=SN40647&sortBy=obsDt
Now here are some photo I took a few years ago.
Photo by Chris Bosak
A Snowy Owl flies across the beach at The Coastal Center at Milford Point in early March 2014.
Photo by Chris Bosak
A Snowy Owl sits on a sign at The Coastal Center at Milford Point in early March 2014.
Birds of New England.com 